Indenting and suamping machine for clay products, such as paving brick and the like



Feb. 25, 1936. D A -r55 2,031,899

INDENTING AND STAMPING MACHINE FOR CLAY PRODUCTS,

, SUCH AS PAVING BRICK AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 17, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 EDWARD D. MATH-I5 INVEN TOR.

By W.

A TT ORNE Y.

Feb. 25, 1936. E. D. MATTES I 2,031,

INDENTING AND STAMPING MACHINE FOR CLAY PRODUCTS,

SUCH AS PAVING BRICK AND THE LIKE Filed Sept 17, 1934 5 Sheeta-Sheet 2 i .2. .MATTBS 3 EDWARD INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Feb. 25, 1936. E. D. MATTES 2,031,

INDENTING AND STAMPING MACHINE FOR CLAY PRODUCTS,

SUCH AS PAVING BRICK AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 17, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 EDWARD 0. MATTES INVENTOR.

Byig I ATTORNEY.

Feb. 25, E D AT-r55 INDENTING AND STAMPING MACHINE FOR CLAY PRODUCTS, SUCH AS PAVING BRICK AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 17, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY.

E. D. MATTES Feb. 25, 1936.

2,031,899 INDENTING AND STAMPING MACHINE FOR CLAY PRODUCTS,

SUCH AS PAVING BRICK AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 17, 1934 5 SheetsSheet 5 Mm W m I W 7 0W 1 n l 4 E w 2 a Q W I W E 6| [6 .3 g a m X T M .qL 7 m. m tll Patented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INDENTING AND STAMPING MACHINE FOR CLAY PRODUCTS, SUCH AS PAVING BRICK AND THE LIKE Edward D. Mattes, Decatur, 111., assig'nor to Deqlalaitur Brick Manufacturing Company, Decatur,

Application September 17, 1934, Serial No. 744,308

8 Claims. (01. 25-1) My invention relates to devices and apparatus for forming lugs, indentations or projections on plastic articles and for imprinting a trade-mark or name thereon, and particularly to machinery or apparatus for performing such work in continuous, large volume production, such as in the manufacture of brick, tile and other clay ware.

My invention relates specifically to machinery for forming anchoring lugs on paving brick and stamping a name thereon while the brick are in a plastic state.

The chief object of my invention is to provide a machine whereby the mechanisms for forming the lugs and imprinting the name on the brick are synchronized with each other so that not only may precise co-ordination in the performance of the two separate operations be maintained, but automatic, continuous production efiected as well.

Another important object of my invention is the provision of a machine for forming lugs and stamping a name on brick in different locations, but at predetermined intervals along a column of plastic clay from which the brick are formed, by means of a transverse cutting operation, the latter forming no part of my present invention.

A further object of my invention is to provide a lug-forming and name-stamping machine, such as that above mentioned, with means for conveying the column of clay through the machine at a measured rate of longitudinal movement in co-or-dination with the lug-forming and namestamping and cutting-off mechanism so that all the operations of the machine are completely synchronized with one another.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a machine wherein the lug-forming rollers and the name-stamping mechanism are capable of positive adjustment with relation to one another to enable correction of any slight discrepancy in the co-operative relation of any of the several operations of the machine as a whole.

Other objects of my invention will appear from the following specification of which the accompanying drawings form a part, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my improved lugforming and name-stamping machine with a column of clay in the machine.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine as viewed from the left of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the machine as viewed from the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow, showing the column of clay in cross-section.

ed screw 2I.

Fig. 5 is a view in front elevation of the namestamping device.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken on the line 1-7 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a cross-section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4, showing the adjusting device for the upper forming roller.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing several brick after the column of clay has been subjected to the cutting-off operation.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a spring support for the upper roller driving shaft.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts in the several Views, I indicates a measuring drum shaft which is driven from a suitable power unit (not shown), this shaft being journaled in oppositely disposed bearings I I and I2 rigidly secured to the machine frame I3 by means of bolts I4 and I4, respectively. Mounted on shaft II] is a measuring drum or roller I5, this drum being secured to shaft II] by means of a key I6. A corresponding roller (not shown) is mounted at some distance away from drum I and a flexible, endless, belt I! is mounted about said rollers under sufiicient tension to form a conveyor for the column of clay as will later be more fully explained.

The top portion of the belt I I is supported by a platen I8 and the bottom portion of the belt is supported by idler rollers I9 mounted on the machine frame. The outer circumference of the measuring drum I5 plus the thickness of the belt I1 is precisely equal to the length of a column of clay sufficient to make a predetermined number of full sized brick plus a surplus equalling substantially a half size brick, the object of which will be later explained.

A bevel gear 20 is mounted on one end of the shaft ID and secured thereto by means of a head- The gear 20 meshes with another bevel gear 22 secured by means of a headed screw 23 to a vertical shaft 24 so that the latter is driven by shaft III. Shaft 24 is mounted in bearings 25, 26 and 21 secured to the vertical extension 28 of the machine frame, said bearings being preferably of the roller type. An angle bracket 29 having a resilient horizontal section 30 with a slot 3| in its outer end is secured to the vertical extension of the frame 28 immediately above the bearing 26 by means of the screws 32. A bevel gear 33 corresponding in size with gear 22 is slidably mounted on the shaft 24, but is caused to rotate with said shaft by means of a through slot 34 in the bore of the gear and a key 35 imbedded in the shaft 24. The hub of the gear 33 rests upon the resilient extension 38 of the bracket. The shaft 24 rests within the slot 3|. The resilient member 38 provides a yieldable end thrust support for gear 33.

Another bevel gear 33 corresponding in. size with gear 28 is fixedly mounted by means of a headed screw 31 on the end of a horizontally disposed transversely extending shaft 38, with gear 33 in mesh with gear 35, so that the shaft 38 will be driven at the same speed of rotation as that of shaft Ill. The shaft 38 is journaled in a roller bearing 39 which is slidably mounted in substantially square, tubular housings 48 and 48' which are rigidly secured by means of welding to the vertical extension 28 of the machine frame. The bearing 39 rests upon a supporting block 41 which in turn rests upon a helical spring 52 supported by a bracket 43 which is fixedly secured to the upright extension 28 by means of bolts or screws 44 thus providing a resilient cushion for the hearing 39 and the shaft 38, so that a slight vertical movement of said shaft is permitted in either direction. The spring 42 is seated at its upper end. in a recess 45 in the slidable block GI, and at its lower end on a plate 45, which rests upon the bracket 43 and is held in position by means of a screw 47 which projects through the bracket 53 into a recess 48 in the'bottom of the plate 45. A slot 49 in the upright extension 28 permits vertical movement of the shaft 38 in the stationary frame extension.

The opposite end of the shaft 33 is mounted in a roller bearing 58 which is mounted similar to bearing 39, in that it is slidably mounted in substantially square tubular housings 5| and 5! which are fixedly secured to another vertical extension 52 of the machine frame !3 by means of the screws 53 and. BI respectively. The bearing 58 rests upon the slidable supporting block 54 whch in turn rests upon a helical spring 55, said spring 55 being supported by a plate 55 mounted on a bracket 51 which bracket is secured to the vertical frame extension 52. A screw 58 projects through the bracket into a recess 59 in the plate 58 to center and hold the spring 55 in fixed position. The upper end of the spring 55 is seated in a recess 58 in the supporting block 54, so that the bearing 58 is cushioned to permit a slight vertical movement of the shaft 38 in either direction.

The screw 53 projects through the wall of the housing 5| and the vertical member 52 with its end abutting the outer face of the bearing 58 directly opposite the end of the shaft 38, which screw is adapted for slight adjustment of the bearing 58' when necessary to prevent binding of shaft 38 in the bearing 58.

A name stamp supporting plate 62 is adjustably mounted on the lower side of the bracket 5'! and is held in adjusted position by means of spaced screws 63 which project through the bracket 51. The screws 64 and 65 project through the vertical extension 52 with their ends abutting the edge of the plate 32. The purpose of said screws is to force either end of the plate 82 outwardly from the extension 52 to make slight changes in its alignment, as will later be more fully explained. Secured to the inner edge of the plate 32 by means of the bolts 66 is a fiat spring metal member 61 bent into substantially a U-shape and having a name-stamping plate 88 secured to the opposite end of said spring member, the stamping plate being provided with raised letters or other characters 69 to imprint a trade-mark or name in the plastic material upon impact therewith. Slots 18 in the plate 62 permit the screws 63 to move laterally of the machine when loosened for adjustment of the stamping plate. A similar slot H provides clearance for movement of the middle screw 58 heretofore mentioned which centers the spring plate 58.

A cam wheel 12 having formed on or secured on its face a series of equidistantly spaced cams E3 of wedge-like form is mounted on the shaft 38 and adjustably secured to said shaft by means of a set screw 13. The spring member 61 which carries the stamping plate 68 is so formed that it tends to spring outwardly to force the stamping plate against the side of a column of plastic clay C carried on the conveyor belt ll. The spring member 8! is, however, at all times in contact with the series of cams E3 and it is thereby forced away from contact with the column of clay each time the wider portion of a cam moves into position opposite the spring member 51. Thus the cams l3 effect intermittent movement of the stamping plate away from and toward the column of clay, the inward movement being effected automatically by the spring action of the member 81 so that the trade-mark or name is stamped on the side of the clay column at regular intervals which will leave one name on the end of each brick when later formed by the cuttingv off operation.

An indenting or lug-forming roller 15 is loosely mounted on the shaft 38 intermediately thereof, and held against end thrust thereon by recessed collars "l3 and 17 which fit over the respective ends of the hub of the roller 15. Collar 76 is fixedly secured to the shaft 38 by means of a set screw, and the collar TI is held against endwise movement by an arm 18 which is secured to said shaft by means of a key 19. The arm 18 is formed at its outer end in substantially the shape of a E with its upper end positioned about a horizontal projection 88 made integral with one of the spokes of the roller 15.

Two oppositely disposed adjusting screws 8! and 82 project through the curved portion of the arm 18 and bear against the respective opposite sides of the projection 88. By means of said screws a slight angular adjustment of the roller 15 may be effected while the machine is in motion, due to its slow speed and at the same time maintain said roller in rigid position on the shaft 38.

The roller l5 has formed about its outer periphery two rows of equidistantly spaced indenting lugs 83 disposed at the opposite edges of said roller which lugs are aligned with ridges R formed. by a previous operation on the top sur-' face of a column of clay C, so that as the colunm of plastic clay is conveyed past the roller 15 the lugs 83 will indent the ridges R, that is to say, press spaces in the ridge down to the level of the top surface of the column, thus forming regularly spaced anchoring lugs 84 on the top surjected to any irregularity in the movement of the roller 15. The roller is preferably covered with felt or other material 89 which is kept saturated with a suitable lubricant to preclude possible sticking of the surface of the roller to the clay material.

Fixed on the extreme upper end of the shaft 24 is a bevel gear 98 corresponding in size with gear 22, which gear 96 meshes with another bevel gear 9| corresponding in size with gear 20. Gear 9| is secured to a horizontal shaft 92 mounted in bearings 93 and 9 3 secured to horizontal support 95 which extends diagonally across the machine. A bevel gear 96 is secured to the opposite end of the shaft 92 and said gear meshes with another bevel gear 9'! secured to the upper end of a vertically disposed shaft 98, mounted in bearings 93 and IN secured to the extension l0! of the horizontal support or portion of the frame 95. The gears 95 and 91 correspond in size to the gears 9i and 99 respectively so that the speed of rotation of shaft 92 equals that of the shaft l0 and the speed of the shaft 98 equals that of the shaft 24.

Another lug-forming roller I02 is secured to the lower end of the shaft 98, this roller being adapted to form lugs I63 on one side of the column of clay. This roller, instead of having two rows of short lugs is provided with equidistantly spaced projections HM which extend the entire width of the roller H32, and these projections extend radially a sumcient distance to contact a flat surface of the side of the column of clay C and press indentations in the single ridge RX which extends horizontally along the middle portion of the clay column to form the lugs I63.

As shown in Fig. 9 two lugs appear on the end of each brick after it is cut off the column.

The clay column has formed in its upper surface and extending lengthwise thereof a groove G located outwardly of but adjacent to the ridge R, and another similar groove G extending inwardly of but adjacent to the opposite ridge R.

The measuring drum I5 is geared to rotate in the direction of the arrow indicated in Fig. 2 and the indenting roller 15 rotates in the opposite direction. The indenting roller I02 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1.

It will be seen that the arrangement of gearing described in the foregoing is such that the measuring drum l5, the indenting roller 15 and the indenting roller H32 all rotate at the same rate of speed so that the peripheral speed of each of the indenting rollers corresponds precisely to the travel of the conveyer belt II. It will be seen further that the cam wheel 72 rotates in precise relation to the measuring drum and the identing rollers, as well as to the longitudinal travel of the column of clay. Thus the entire mechanism for conveying the column of clay through the machine, for indenting the lugs in the upper surface of the clay column and the side surface of the clay column and for stamping the trade name at predetermined intervals along the side of the clay column are all synchronized with one another, so that each mechanism performs its function automatically and with precision, enabling quantity production to be carried on continuously without necessity of manual control of any of the separate functions of the machine as a whole.

In operation, the column of clay C, which is moulded or drawn into substantially rectangular formation in cross-section with the ridges R and R and the grooves G and G by a process not forming a part of my invention, is laid on the conveyer belt I! which conveys it in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 2, and as the column moves forward it passed under the upper indenting roller 15 which indents the ridges R and R to form the lugs 84. At substantially the same time one of the earns 13 and the cam wheel '12 permits the stamping plate 68 to contact the side of the clay column by force of the spring member 6'! and imprint the trade mark such as Decatur, illustrated on the side of the column of plastic clay. As the column moves farther it engages the indenting roller H32 which indents the ridge RX to form the lugs I03. The column of clay is then conveyed onto a gang cut-off device (not shown), where the entire column is cut up into brick ready for the firing kiln. As shown in Fig. 9 a surplus, substantially a half brick, is left at the end to allow for a perfect brick at the end of the column.

It will be observed that any slight discrepancy in the entire mechanism may be corrected by one adjustment, and that is the adjustment of the upper indenting roller 15 by means of the adjusting screws 8| and 82 as more clearly shown in Fig. 8. The roller 15 rotates very slowly, and consequently the screws 8| and 82 may be manipulated and the needed adjustment made while the machine is in motion.

Any needed correction in the alignment of stamp-ing plate 68 may be effected by loosening the bolts 63 and the center bolt 68 and adjusting the supporting plate 52 on which the spring member 6'! that carries the name-stamping plate is mounted.

The result of the several operations of forming the lugs 84 and I93 and imprinting the trade name on the plastic column of clay is clearly shown in Fig. 9 which illustrates the completed brick with lugs and name.

Although the lug-forming rollers illustrated in the drawings are shown as provided with indenting lugs it is to be understood that said rollers may for other forms of work be provided with recesses for embossing and the like. The namestamping plate may if desired be provided with sunken characters for forming raised letters or other characters.

One of the outstanding advantages of my improved machine is that with this machine the anchoring lugs and the trade-mark are automatically formed at precisely the same location on each brick, thereby imparting to finished paving brick a uniform and pleasing appearance not attained by any mechanisms heretofore made available to manufacturers of such brick.

It is to be understood that specific changes in the details of my improved machine set forth in the foregoing description may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1. A lug-forming and name-stamping machine comprising in combination a frame, a horizontally disposed driving shaft journaled on said frame, a measuring drum mounted on said shaft, a conveyor belt mounted on said drum, 2. top lugforming roller, a side lug-forming roller, and a cam wheel journaled on said frame and driven by said driving shaft at the same speed of rotation as said driving shaft, a series of cams carried by said cam wheel, a name-stamping plate mounted on said frame and controlled by said cams, and means for actuating said stamping plate.

2. A lug-forming and name-stamping machine comprising in combination a frame, a driving shaft journaled on said frame, a measuring drum mounted on said shaft, a conveyor belt mounted on said drum, a top lug-forming roller, a side lug-forming roller and a cam wheel journaled on said frame and driven by said driving shaft at the same rate of speed as said driving shaft, a series of cams carried by said cam wheel, a name-stamping plate mounted on said frame and controlled by said cams, and means for actuating said stamping plate,

3. A lug-forming and name-stamping machine comprising in combination a frame, a driving shaft journaled on said frame, a measuring drum mounted on said shaft, a conveyer belt mounted on said drum, a top lug-forming roller, a side lug-forming roller and a cam wheel driven by said driving shaft, a name-stamping plate moun ed on said frame and controlled by cams carried by said cam wheel.

4. A lug-forming and name-stamping machine comprising in combination a frame, a horizontally disposed driving shaft journaled on said frame, a measuring drum mounted on said frame, a second horizontally disposed shaft journaled on said frame above the driving shaft, a top lugforming roller mounted on said second shaft, a cam wheel mounted on said second shaft, a series of cams carried by said cam wheel, a spring actuated name-stamping plate mounted on said frame and controlled for intermittent impact in a lateral direction by said cams, a vertically disposed shaft journaled on said frame forward of and driven by said driving shaft, a side lug-forming roller mounted on said vertical shaft, a conveyer belt mounted on said measuring drum adapted to convey a column of plastic material past said lug-forming rollers and name-stamping device, the extreme diameter of each of said lug-forming rollers being precisely equal to that of said measuring drum plus the thickness of said conveyer belt.

5. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a horizontally disposed driving shaft journaled in bearings mounted on said frame, a second horizontal shaft j ournaled in spring supported bearings mounted on said frame above said measuring drum, a top lug-forming roller and a cam wheel mounted on said second shaft, a vertically disposed shaft journaled in bearings at one side of said frame, a side lug-forming roller mounted on said vertical shaft, another vertically disposed shaft extending from said driving shaft to the extreme upper portion of said frame, bevel gears connecting said driving shaft and said last mentioned vertical shaft, bevel gears connecting said last mentioned vertical shaft with said second horizontal shaft, an overhead horizontal shaft extending from said last named vertical shaft to the other said vertical shaft, bevel gears connecting said overhead shaft with each of said vertical shafts, the ratio of said gears. being such as to rotate said second horizontal shaft and the first mentioned vertical shaft at the same speed as said drive shaft, a measuring drum mounted on said driving shaft, a name-stamping plate mounted on said frame and controlled by a series of cams carried by said cam wheel, and means for actuating said stamping-plate.

6. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a horizontally disposed shaft journaled on said frame, a second horizontal shaft journaled in spring supported bearings mounted on said frame, means for effecting lateral adjustment of one of said bearings, a top lug-forming roller mounted on said shaft, and means for effecting angular adjustment of said roller with relation to said shaft.

'7. In a machine of the character described a lateral impact spring actuated stamping device, a cam wheel provided with a series of cams for controlling the action of said stamping device and means for adjusting the alignment of said device.

8. In a machine of the character described a top lug-forming roller loosely mounted on a horizontal shaft, a thrust collar secured to said shaft and abutting said roller on one side thereof, a collar loosely mountedon said shaft and abutting said roller on the opposite side thereof, an arm having a loop at its upper end keyed to said shaft and abutting said loose collar, a projection on said roller extending through said loop, and adjusting screws projecting through the opposite sides of said loop and engaging said projection to enable angular adjustment of said roller with relation to said shaft.

EDWARD D. MATTES. 

